A Beginners Journey

I’m sure you could have guessed this just from reading a few of these blog posts. Indeed, that stubbornness extends farther than just in the gym. It’s hard for me to stay of the gym, whether it be soreness, injury, or even sickness.

Yep, that’s me, stubborn to the bone!

With that being said, I truly push myself to be the best that I can be, in and out of the gym. So when I get sick, I don’t necessarily react the best way possible…

It’s Not That Big of a Deal

What am I, a sissy? It’s just a tickle in my throat. It’s not too bad.

I’m going to make this perfectly clear: I will not let sickness keep me away from my gains! Though I may have the sniffles, I’m still going to lift heavier than I’ve ever lifted before! Grow stronger than ever imaginable! Crush weights that try to stand in my way!

HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!

Now It’s a Big Deal

Okay, now I’ve become a sissy. Call me an ugly-duckling because I feel HORRIBLE.

No lie, I’m a sissy when I’m sick.

I’m not sure how I got to this point, but now I can’t get out of bed. I’m truly amazed at how the sniffles turned into the full on flu. I couldn’t eat, could barely sleep, and was doing a better job at keeping things out more than in (sorry for the TMI).

So where did I go wrong? Why am is my body become a sess-pool of nasty.

WHEN TO REST AND WHEN TO WORK

The key to knowing when to rest and when to work is leaning and listening to your body. Sure there are some situations when it’s acceptable to work out and exercise. However, there are more frequent situations when dealing with sickness when you cannot engage in exercise at all.

You should note however that in most situations, it is not okay to exercise due to the fact that your body does not concentrate on getting better, instead it focuses on repairing muscle tissue. Although there is no clear scientific explanation sickness and working out, let’s explore some situations when it’s okay to exercise.

*Note: I am not a doctor. I know how my body operates and which situations I can lift and when I cannot. With that being said, the rest of this blog should be considered advice from personal experience(s), and not actual certified/professional recommendations.

Situations When It’s Okay

Thomas Weidner, head of athletic training at Ball State University, believes a great way to know when it’s acceptable to exercise is to perform what’s called a neck check. When conducting a neck check, you to whether to exercise or not if your symptoms are above the neck. Such symptoms include: sneezing, sore throat, and runny nose. This conclusion can be taken from two different controversial studies where subjects were infected with the common cold. The subjects were in a controlled environment, and their symptoms were no worse (or better) for exercising while being sick. In fact, the group that exercised, versus the group that didn’t, reported feeling slightly better after exercising (possibly from endorphins).

So, if you’ve got a simple head cold, it’s generally acceptable to workout, just try not to push yourself past your limits.

Situations When It’s Not

This isn’t going to come as a surprise, but some key moments to realize when you’re way too sick to workout is by listening to your body. Such situations include: when you can’t keep food down, you have a fever, you’re contagious, and those are just to name a few. You’re body is obviously up-in-arms with sickness, and working out is definitely not going to help anything.

In times like these, you need to “lean” into your sickness. Accept that your sick, stay home, and rest up. Your body needs to focus on healing itself from its sickness, not repairing muscle tissue.

Always consult a doctor if you have any questions.

IN CONCLUSION

Should you workout while you’re sick? No. It’s just not smart and can do more harm than good. However, if you have some serious goals that you need to achieve, the sniffles aren’t going to cause you enough issues to worry about. Listen to your body, if lifting is going to cause you significant strain, then rest up. Always consult a doctor if you have any questions.

It was bulking season, I was working out two times a day, and putting every ounce of effort that I had into getting bigger and stronger.

Look at that transformation!

With my hunger and determination, I couldn’t be stopped. I was constantly researching new ways to build up on my knowledge and strength. Eating wasn’t an issue, soreness wasn’t an issue, and time was on my side.

However, all of this changed after a routine health checkup.

Well That’s Gonna Slow Me Down

Turns out, the Big Man Upstairs had other plans when it came to my weightlifting. During a routine visit with my doctor, I found out that I would be needing surgery on my back. The procedure itself would be simplistic; however the recovery time was going to put me out of commission for a month.

That’s not my back, that’s a knee. Anatomy is great!

My first thought was: “Are you kidding me?!”

My second thought was: “I’m going to be turning to mush!”

How Long Do I Have?

That’s the real question; how long do I have before I lose my muscle mass and lose all of my hard work? It’s a serious issue!

Anger and surprise swelled up within me. It’s not fair! I worked my butt off to gain this muscle, nursed myself through injuries, and constantly try to alter my plan so that I can have the most benefit from a workout. Now, I’m lying in bed in agony trying to figure out a creative way to work out without injuring myself more.

The thing is, there is no way to work out if you’re injured (especially after a surgery). So how long does the human body really have before you start to lose your muscle gains and have to start from square one?

TIME IS A FACTOR, BUT DON’T PANIC!

Although time is definitely a factor, don’t panic! This is one of the most often asked questions when it comes to working out. It’s understandable that you want to ask this question and are wondering about the future, you’ve worked hard!

There are two key reasons why you shouldn’t be too worried when it comes muscle loss. One key topic is muscle memory and atrophy, a huge key to keeping your muscle gains. Another aspect that will keep you solid is cutting back on all the food you’ve been eating.

Let’s dive into these topics more below:

Your Work Will Pay Off

Trust me, your hard work will pay off. Muscles are resilient and it takes time for them to decrease in size. In fact muscles get stronger during times of recovery so a little time off from the gym doesn’t hurt necessarily.

Also, if you’re taking a significant time out of the gym, say 2 or 3 weeks, don’t stress out too much about the timeout. Your muscles may get smaller and decrease in size and you may not be able to lift as much, but muscle memory will ensure once you hit the gym your muscles will adjust quickly.

So say it with me: put in the work now, don’t stress the healing time later.

Cut Back on the Din-Din

It’s sad but true. Though we all love the amount of eating we get to do while training, if you’re injured your body doesn’t require nearly as much fuel as it used to. Don’t get me wrong, on rest days it’s a common fact that you should keep up your eating, but if you’re injured and going to be out of commission for a significant amount of time you just don’t need to be eating as much.

Cut back on the din-din!

That’s the issue where most weightlifters run into problems, they keep eating extra food and even junk food when they’re taking a break from lifting. Do yourself and your training a favor and cut back on the din-din, you should be golden.

IN CONCLUSION

So should you be worried about your muscles when taking a substantial break from the gym? Yes, but don’t stress too much. The hard work and dedication that you put in to your training will pay off in your down-time. Work hard before and after your break, cut down on your food intake, and focus on healing.

Check out these bad boys! I’ve been putting some serious work into my arms over the past few months, and it shows!

Look at those guns!

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a cocky or arrogant person, you just have to understand what I came from. My arms were absolutely tiny when I first started working out. Finally I had started to put on some serious mass.

So there I am, minding my own business, admiring my handy-work in the free weight section of my gym, when I hear gigantic footsteps creep up behind me…

Those Things Are Monsters

BOOM! What are those!?

Standing next to me in the free weight area of the gym was a 6’ 4” monster with arms bigger than my head. He obviously knows something I don’t, because this is insane! While I’m trying to calmly curl my thirty pound dumb bells, this freak of nature grabs two 50 pounders and heaves them with ease.

Are you kidding me?

After seeing what could only be described as a strong man competition right beside me, I had only one thought on my mind…

Wow, I Really Am Puny

Indeed, my arms did look really puny.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a Debbie-Downer, but seeing this guy’s monstrous arms was definitely an eye opener for me. It didn’t just make me question the size of my arms, but my workout, diet, genetics, life, luck, you name it.

I had truly put a lot of work into my arms and really couldn’t understand why they weren’t growing into the muscular-atrocities that I always wanted.

HERE’S THE TRUTH

There are many different variables that go into someone’s arm size. So many in fact, that it becomes very difficult to try and pin point what makes them grow or not grow (per individual).

In this blog post I want to go over two aspects that I believe cause the most success and frustration when growing arms. The first will be over-working of the arms. For some people, it works great, and it seems like the obvious answer to growing arms because it generally has a success rate in other muscle groups.

The other aspect I want to talk about is genetics. That’s right, the cellular map of how an individual is wired together holds another key component to how your arms grow.

Let’s get started.

Over-Working Doesn’t Help

You may be thinking, “Hey! I’ve never worked out before and I’ve worked on my arms five days a week for the past 2 months and they’ve grown like crazy!”

Well, to sum up my response: DUH!

If you’ve never worked out before, especially if you’ve never worked on your arms, of course they’re going to respond to the stress by growing. Your arm muscles aren’t used to being put under that constant pressure and strain so naturally they grow to accommodate.

However, this is just a phase and won’t last long. Your arms are a smaller muscle group that doesn’t require an extreme amount of work to grow. Yes, you should work out your arms on a weekly basis, but working them out several times a week is going to do more harm than good.

Unless you have the genes of a Greek God, your arms aren’t going to respond well to constant-extreme-strain. Check out my previous blog post about growing your arms here.

Speaking of God-Like Genes

I know it doesn’t sound fair, but some people are genetically built to grow muscle better than other people.

Your genes play a HUGE role in how your muscles grow. Some people barely have to try to put on an ounce of muscle, while others can put their whole heart and soul into training and still and won’t gain anything. A big reason why body builders are so big is because genetics in their DNA are specifically coded to build muscle. Like it or not, it’s just genetics.

God-like genes, more like Zeus-like genes.

The best way to overcome this issue is to identify which body type you are and then adjust your training and diet accordingly. If you would like more help, check out my previous blog on body types here.

IN CONCLUSION

SO, why are their arms bigger than mine? As you can see, there are many different reasons (I tried to cover two of the biggest). Another thing to remember is that someone who has bigger arms is most likely at a point in their training when they have worked hard for their arms. The key to growing your arms and getting to your goals is to not get discouraged and to keep training.

Let me first start out by asking not to sue me for copyright infringement, the lyrics are great but I don’t have money to pay for that lawsuit (indeed).

Secondly, there is indeed no rest for the wicked (not that I’m a wicked person).

Imagine a college-aged me, back in the beginning days of my training. I was going to school, working two jobs, and working out 5 days a week. I was truly pushing myself to my limits, and I felt great in doing so! While I was pushing myself so hard, sacrifices had to be made. Since I was doing dark magic with my math homework, and making money frying fast food chicken, sleep had to be sacrificed.

That’s no biggie to me. I’m a macho man, I can handle it. However, my workout buddy started to notice that I was showing up later and later to our morning workout (which began promptly at 6:30AM). He noticed how slow and bogged down I had become. From there, he gave me some of the most shocking news I had ever heard…

What Do You Mean I Have to Sleep?

Wait, what?! Didn’t you just read the beginning of this post? I’m going to school, working two jobs, and working out five times a week! In between all the homework I was completing and fried chicken I was cooking, I didn’t have time to sleep!

On top of all that, how important is sleep? It’s sleep for goodness sakes! I’m in my early 20’s so sleep should definitely not be a priority. But on top of that, how is dreaming of dandelions and butterflies truly important to my muscle gains*?

*Don’t judge me, sometimes you need a little dandelion and butterfly in your life.

SLEEP IS VITAL

Here’s the deal, Sonny Jim (wouldn’t it be funny if a Jim were actually reading this post right now?) Sleep is vital, I repeat, vital to muscle gains. Not only does sleeping help your body and mind rejuvenate, but it also helps give you a chance to shut down and distress.

Shouldn’t you be sleeping?

During sleep, it has actually been proven that your body repairs and replenishes the cells and muscles that have been breaking down through training. In other terms, during rest and sleep our muscles are growing.

But don’t take my word for it, let’s take a look at the science behind sleep and muscle gains.

The Science Behind Sleep and Muscle Gain

Sleeping is very important for muscle gains for several different reasons. First, sleeping rests the brain, which for bodybuilders means they have vital mental alertness during the day, and training. Studies show that during REM sleep, proper functioning of the brain and alertness is assisted.

Also, human growth hormone is also released under the conditions of sleep, 60%-70% for men during their deepest sleep cycles. These deep sleep cycles are extremely important to gaining muscle and the growth of muscle tissue, poor quality of sleep can prevent the amount of growth hormones released.

Taking a look at the sleep cycle, we can observe that we actually hit several key cycles while we sleep. Most people go through at least 5 cycles per night, each ranging between 90-100 minutes. A lack of these stages could cause: memory loss, lack of rest, and slowed brain activity.

Lastly, research has consistently shown that REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement), actually allows the body to rejuvenate and repair: organs, bones, tissue, immune cells, etc. So to say that sleep isn’t vital to a workout plan is to blatantly disregard a key proponent of any regimen.

How Much Sleep Do I Need

That’s a tricky question. Everybody is different and everyone goes through different tasks throughout the day. Between 8 hours of work, 8 hours of play, and 8 hours of sleep, the 24 hours of the day are pretty much set in stone. In fact some people work more, or have more tasks than play, and can’t sleep for 8 hours. To keep it simple, research shows that the average person requires between 7-9 hours of sleep daily.

Yep, sleep is important.

How do we ensure this amount of sleep? Here are some helpful tips!

Do your best not to over sleep, even on the weekends. Sleeping in is good, but sleeping 12 hours isn’t.

Exercise consistently (which I’m assuming you are if you’re reading this blog). This naturally makes you want to sleep more.

Avoid pills or medication that help you sleep. It sounds good at first, but it causes issues with your sleep cycle(s) in the long run.

Relax before going to bed. Keeping the mind at ease before sleep helps your body fall into a place of rest.

IN CONCLUSION

Sleep is vital to any training regimen, and should be considered as such. Trust me, I didn’t necessarily know sleep was truly detrimental until researching for this post, but science doesn’t lie. Sleep helps you body rejuvenate, repair, relax, and get ready for the next day of training you have ahead. Let’s keep it simple, don’t stay out all night, instead stay home every now and then and get some much needed shut eye.

If eating were a sport, which it is, I would be the King. Not to brag, but I can put it away when it comes to food. Where does it all go? Nobody knows.

My workouts were giving me a perfectly good excuse to eat tons of food. That’s what you’re supposed to do right? You workout hard, you eat lots of food to make up for it. So that’s what I was doing!

Although I am a man, this is an accurate representation of my eating.

Pounds of chicken, cups of rice, and don’t get me started on the protein shakes. My stomach was definitely happy and content; there was just one problem…

The Scale Is a Jack Wagon!

This scale is obviously defective (that’s what I get for getting a scale from the bargain bin!). There is no way that I way this much after altering my diet for my fitness goals. How in the holy-Chuck-Norris did I gain 10 pounds in one week?

I’ve always read about how body builders will eat between 5,000-8,000 calories in one day. I’m barely eating about 4,000 and I’m about to have panic attack staring at this off-brand scale of mine. Someone’s playing a joke on me. It’s always been said that when you workout hard, you eat hard, right?

So Then How Did I Put on So Much Weight?

It’s hard for me to move upstairs, I get winded bringing in the groceries, and I’m looking a little rounder around the edges. That’s not supposed to happen! I’ve been pushing myself in the gym relentlessly. I mean honestly, I don’t spend a day without feeling sore. My lifts are getting heavier, my form is getting better, but my body is getting thicker.

As stated above: it’s always been a known consensus that when you work out hard, you’re supposed to eat more. That’s what I did! Where did I go wrong?

This is a bunch of b-o-l-o-g-n-a!

THE SCALE ISN’T WRONG

My biggest mistake was blaming the scale instead of accepting that I had made a mistake on my own free will. The scale doesn’t lie, people. That’s just a cold hard fact. The scale can either be your best friend or a cruel mistress, but she doesn’t lie.

My mistake, and maybe yours since you’re reading this, is that I didn’t research anything in regards to how much I should actually be eating. I had always assumed from body building magazines that I was supposed to eat as much food as I could get my hands on, but that simple wasn’t the case.

You Can’t Just Eat What You Want

Read that title again, “You can’t just eat what you want.” Eating what you want can land you into some serious trouble when it comes to your health.

If you’re eating too much protein, you would be seriously damaging your heart or your liver. If you’ve eating too many fats, you could be causing problems to your heart while also adding on a few extra pounds in the process. Add these two issues together, and you could cause serious issues like heart disease and diabetes to your body with constant abuse.

Sounds scary, doesn’t it? It could be easily avoidable.

How Many Calories Should I Eat?

Well, that’s sort of hard to answer when I don’t know you personally, dear reader. That question can only be answered through research, trial and error.

Everybody is different, and everybody reacts differently to their training session. With that being said, research should definitely be completed before anybody takes on a diet plan. When researching, check out how much the average person with your gender, height, and age requires in calorie consumption to function. From there you should be able to calculate in respect to both your workout and daily activities to accurately create an appropriate calorie count.

IN CONCLUSION

Eating the appropriate amount of food and calories is essential in reaching your workout goals. A body that is not used to working out or doesn’t have a lot of muscle does not require an extreme amount of calories in the beginning phases of a workout program. In retrospect, someone who already has a decent amount of muscle on their body and trains regularly could eat a high concentration of calories more consistently.

Eating smarter means eating happier!

You know what you should do to avoid all of this nonsense, and start your workout and diet training the right way?

You may have heard me mention several times that in my beginning days I was pretty into my running. Running wasn’t necessarily my goal, but it’s what I had always done when it came to working out. So I directly translated all of my previous experience of gym class and magazine articles into my workout regimen

I was running, sprinting, walking, and anything else I could do to get some extra cardio in. Late one night after a long run, I just happened to stroll upon an article on a weight lifting site. I didn’t see anything besides a clustered group of words, “Running Causes Muscle Loss”.

Running is Bad for Gains?

Now just wait one moment. Ever since gym class back in school we were told that running is a great way to stay in shape. Why else would they make us run just about every day (besides being cruel). And now you want to tell me that running is hindering my gains?

I’m so angry I could scream! Not to mention the fact that I had been running every single day since I started lifting. Back at that time, beginning-lifter-me was completely confused and shocked at this revelation. What now?

Where Do I go from Here?

No seriously, where do I go from here? If what I was doing was causing me issues since day 1, what should I do now?

I stopped running right then and there. I didn’t complete a fast paced walk, I didn’t run, I didn’t even sprint. In my mind, it definitely wasn’t worth losing muscle mass over sprinting. Turns out, that’s a bad idea when it comes to fat loss. They second I took out my cardio was the second I started putting on more fat than usual.

So what should I do?

DON’T PANIC

Read the sign.

The key is to not panic and keep saying everything is going to be okay (because it is). Running isn’t a hindrance on any workout when performed correctly.

Can you put on muscle mass while running? Yes.

Can you lose muscle mass while running? Definitely yes.

First things first, you need to decide what your goal is going to be. Either A) to put on mass, or B) lean out fat (for this sake, we’re going to consider fat-loss and endurance running the same).

In regards to both, there are two key options to consider in regards to fat loss while maintaining muscle mass. Here are some great options:

For Muscle Gains

Take a look at a professional sprinter. These guys and gals are jacked to the core. They have legs of steel and big muscles even though they run as a professional. So how do they do it?

It has been proven that sprinting intensely actually increases muscle mass. The key to running and retaining muscle mass it to keep it at high intensity for a short amount of time. It takes time to be successful, but try spring “all-out” for 4-10 reps. You are going to feel tired at the end of each spring, but you can’t beat fats, all-out short sprints are the best for preserving/building muscle. Just do your best to spread out your cardio between your lifting, and you’re golden.

Sprinters not only maintain, but gain muscle.

For Fat Loss

Looking at the other end of the spectrum, for fat loss you should be running more. However, if you’re looking to lose fat while maintaining muscle mass, you shouldn’t even be on the treadmill. In fact, you should be on the stationary bike.

Why the stationary bike? It’s been scientifically proven that running causes far more muscle loss than cycling. Due to the range of motion when it comes to cycling, a wide range of motion utilizing the knees and hips, strength and gains aren’t as easily impaired. So for fat loss while maintaining muscle, try to ride the cycle bike intensely for 20 minutes. This will help fat loss while maintaining muscle.

IN CONCLUSION

Running can be detrimental for gains. However, running can also be beneficial for muscle gains. The best way to go about running or cardio is to decide upon your goals and adjust your workouts accordingly. Add your cardio into your training regimen; just be sure to give yourself ample time between workouts to maximize benefits. What’s the best way to gain muscle and lose fat?

No literally, it’s a sight to behold. I had heard over and over again how protein was essential for growing muscles. Not only that, but images of body builders and professional athletes chowing down on steaks and chicken right after an intense gym session was the norm.

So what did I do? I bought pounds and pounds of chicken, ground beef, steaks, rice, and went to town!

Look at this little guy!

More Protein Means More Muscle, Right?

I mean, that’s been the consensus since the dawn of weight lifting. The more protein you eat, the more fuel your muscles have to grow. With the amount of protein I was eating, I should have looked like the Hulk’s older brother, Bulk (don’t laugh, I worked hard on that name).

Chickens feared me, beef ran to hide when I walked in the room, and don’t get me started on fish (jokes on you, I’m not a big fish eater).

Then Where are My Gains?

Oh where, oh where, have my massive-gains gone? Oh where, oh where could they be? (See what I did there).

But on a serious note, I was eating tons of protein and not turning into this muscular monster that I thought I would become. I was seriously cleaning out the local supermarket and wrecking shop on calories and my body. Why wasn’t I seeing any increased gains?

Totally not me, but isn’t that sad?

MORE ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER

You read that right. Chow down all you want, but more protein isn’t always better. There are a lot of components that go into muscle and strength gains when it comes to diet and exercise. Macro-nutrients such as fats, carbohydrates and proteins are highly important. Micro-nutrients that come into the picture.

So unfortunately, it isn’t just as simple as eating more protein to get more muscle gains. In fact, someone who is eating way more protein than their body need could actually be doing more harm than good.

Here’s how:

Top 3 Issues of Excess Protein

One problem is weight gain. Your body can only use so much protein, so when you eat it in excess then your body obviously can’t use it all. For example: If a person eats 100 grams of protein, the average human body can only utilize 50 grams out of that 100. That means your body will store around 200 extra calories as fat. Doing this on a daily basis can cause a lot of problems in the future.

Also, eating too much protein can cause reduced function in both the liver and brain. When someone takes in protein, their body produces ammonia. Normally the liver makes ammonia harmless. However, eating too much protein over a period of time can cause the liver to become overworked.

Lastly, many foods containing large amounts of protein, like meat, have lots of cholesterol. This means hardened arteries, which can turn into heart attack and stroke. Don’t get freaked out, this doesn’t mean eating too much protein is going to be serious, however proteins containing large amounts of cholesterol can definitely put you at risk.

So What’s the Proper Amount?

Good question, there are a lot of different opinions when it comes to protein. To grow effectively, the proper amount of protein needs to be in the minimalistic range of 0.5-0.7 grams of protein per pound of body weight. Note, that’s just for the average male or female who is trying to maintain form.

If someone is performing some form of exercises on a regular basis, or is trying to lose fat/build muscle/become a Terminator (that’s me!), then the proper number is more around the 0.8-1 gram per pound of body weight. But again, that’s just a minimum number.

If you’re truly trying to push yourself, to put on significant muscle mass the proper amount is between 1-1.3 grams per pound of body weight. That seems like a lot, and that’s because it is. It’s high, but that’s what the body needs to grow at the rate that you’re forcing it to. Honestly, anything above 1.3 grams per body weight the body can’t truly process.

That’s a lot of protein in one picture.

IN CONCLUSION

Do we need more protein to grow more muscles? Yes.

Is eating an excess amount of protein on a daily basis going to ensure us growth? Not necessarily.

The truth is, this blog is written based on an observation on an average human body and how it should react when pushed to stress and growth. In reality everybody is different and finding the proper number for anyone should be part of their workout process. Find the number that works best for you and go with it, however anything in excess can cause issues, so be careful!

Okay, I’m a drama queen (self-admitted). I was in the gym for around 40 minutes and had really been feeling the burn (burn baby burn!). After 40 minutes of pushing myself, I really thought I was getting a great workout!

In fact leaving the gym, the soreness alone was killing me. However, I felt accomplished and as if I had really done something great in the gym that day.

Walking into my home, I spoke to my roommate about my workout (yes, back in those days I had roommates). And do you know what he said?

“Dude, there’s no way you had a good workout! You were only there for 40 minutes!”

Hold Up

Wait a minute! 40 minutes may, or may not, seem like a decent amount of time for some people. If you’re in a amusement park and eating loads of candy, 40 minutes isn’t a long amount of time. If you’re crunching numbers for the tax breaks for a business, 40 minutes is an eternity.

To make a small story short, I thought 40 minutes was killer for a workout!

Who was this Heffalump (look up Winnie-the-Pooh) to tell me that 40 minutes wasn’t nearly enough for my workout?

I Really Pushed Myself

No really, I seriously pushed myself. When this story took place, I was still in college and had a two-hour timeframe to get my workout completed at the school gym, complete my homework, and get to class on time. That means, I had just about 45 minutes to an hour to get a great workout in before I had to get to class and cram before the professor walked in.

Totally not me, but I did push myself!

What was so wrong in completing a workout within a short time frame? I had always thought if your muscles were sore afterwards, and if it was hard to write calculus notes during class (I was trying to be an engineer for a while) that your workout was great.

Instead, I’m being told that my workout wasn’t possibly going to work because I wasn’t working out LONG (time frame wise) enough.

Help?

DON’T CONCENTRATE ON TIME

Look here, Biscuit (I’m running out of nicknames, okay?) Time isn’t everything when it comes to a workout and it’s efficiency. Don’t get me wrong, if you walk into a gym and jump on a stair master for 5 minutes then walk out and eat a doughnut, then you may be doing something wrong.

However, walking into a gym and determining your success of failure based upon your time spent there is horrible! Here’s how.

Time Isn’t Everything

Here’s the deal, Buttercup (see how I didn’t call you Biscuit?) Time definitely is not everything when it comes to working out. In fact, plenty of bodybuilder advisors and bodybuilders themselves advise in quality of quantity. This in fact means that you should focus more on getting a beneficial workout over a long workout.

Plenty of people can walk into the gym, spend two hours working out/taking breaks/using the bathing/conversing with friends/blah blah blah, and think that they got a great workout. They’re wrong.

You’re workout success completely depends upon how you push yourself while you’re in the gym.

In All Honesty

The best way to get a great workout in the gym is to truly push yourself while in the gym. In full disclosure, I don’t spend less than 45 minutes in the gym. I have a short time frame to get the best I can out of my workout before I have to head to another engagement. I spend 30 minutes on some serious, concentrated weightlifting, and then 15 minutes on cardio.

That works great for me. I focus while I’m in the gym and get the absolute best amount of training I can within that time frame (depending on if I go back in to the gym later on in the day or not).

If you don’t think I’m telling the truth, I advise you to look at the Kris Gethin workout, DTP. This workout is tough, really tough. It’s so tough that it is my favorite workout to complete when I’m entering lean-out season. The purpose of the workout is to build lean-mean muscle while pushing yourself. The time frame for each workout: 45 minutes.

Time and muscle are important, but don’t get them confused!

Is that a coincidence? I think not.

IN CONCLUSION

I’ve heard of people getting an insane workout within 20 minutes. I’ve also heard of people who say they can’t get a good workout unless they’re in the gym 2 hours. The benefit of your workout is most definitely not dependent upon how long you are in the gym. The benefit of your workout is definitely based upon how well you concentrate and push yourself while in that workout timeframe. The best way to get a great workout is to not spend a ton of time in the gym, but what you do with your time while you’re in the gym.

That’s an honest question, okay! A lot of people who have been training for a decent amount of time run across the same question: I’m getting strong, right? These questions come up for one of two reasons:

The amount of weights that I’m lifting haven’t increased.

I haven’t lost weight for some time.

So, why was this question coming up for me? Well I’ll tell you one thing:

My Lifts Are Stronger!

Not only stronger, but more intense! Man, I could lift those 20’s (Totally joking, I was up to 40’s). The point is my workouts were definitely working out well enough for me be proud of myself and acknowledge that I was doing something right. Everything was improving and it didn’t seem to be slowing down soon.

Look how well I can open pickles!

My weights were increasing and my intensity was improving, but there’s just one thing:

But I’m Not Losing Weight?

Hold up, wait a minute, let me put a “what-what?” in it (I’m horrible at chants, don’t judge me). Though I’ve done nothing but improve in all areas of my training, HOW AM I NOT LOSING WEIGHT?

It’s ridiculous, an outrage, who do I complain to!? I mean seriously, it’s like I can’t do anything right. Should I be changing up my diet again or adjust my training?

Again, I had to look deeper before I could find the real answer. And the real answer may shock you.

MUSCLE IS A FACTOR

Here’s the situation Jimbo: muscle is a big factor when it comes to weight loss. When you want to start a training program, most people choose to lift weights, which is great! Lifting weights in the long run can lead to significant health benefits and make it easier to keep a lean/healthy body in the future.

However, in the midst of training so hard you can actually putting on weight (shocking I’m sure). What the weight is is completely dependent on your training and diet.

Am I losing weight? Is my training progressing the way it should? Is my diet on point? Don’t worry, everybody asks these questions at some point in their training.

The best way to judge if you’re putting on the right kind of weight is by keeping a consistent track of your body fat percentage, weight, and measurements. Chances are if you’re body fat percentage consistently decreases but your weight levels out, you’re losing body fat. However if you stop losing weight and your body fat percentage levels out as well, then there might be a problem.

However, there are bigger things to keep in mind:

Focus on Pushing Yourself

Yes, you should always keep track of your weight and size.

Yes, you should always keep improving your training.

However, you should be focusing more on how your training is improving rather than if you’re gaining weight. Don’t get me wrong, if you’re wanting to lean out then obviously putting on weight is a big “no-no” from what you want to accomplish. However, putting on muscle can sometimes skew the scales.

Provide a good amount of emphasis on challenging yourself every day, and sticking to a beneficial training diet, and you can’t go wrong!

Focus!

IN CONCLUSION

So, what do we focus on?

How your progressing rather than if your weight stalls for one period of time.

How your body fat percentage goes up or down during your training.

How your measurements change throughout your training progress.

Focusing on these three aspects of your training will keep you at a sound peace of mind AND allow you to work harder in your training. Weighing yourself every day or constantly stressing yourself out on the fact of leveling out is going to do more harm than good.

Have you ever had that feeling that no matter how hard you’re working, you just can’t seem to achieve a goal? Well, little old me experienced that same feeling a year into my workout program.

What was this feeling of hopelessness, you ask? Did it have to do with my lifts? My time running the quarter mile? Or were my shorty-shorts going out of style (newsflash, they haven’t).

It was tragic: I still didn’t have a six-pack.

My situation wasn’t this bad, but I was still upset!

Really? That Much Drama?

Of course! Call me a drama queen all you want but I had worked hard to get abs! Of course I didn’t necessarily equate the work that needed to go into my abs, like a proper diet or training, but I was doing a lot of crunches!

And can you truly blame me? It has been ingrained within our culture that to look the best and be the best you have to have ripped abs. I mean for real, it’s on almost every guy’s list as a top priority. When all the ladies are looking for a guy with a six-pack, why wouldn’t I throw a little fit?

A guy can’t walk on the beach during spring break without a six-pack, I had to fix this!

What Am I Doing Wrong?

Let’s review my training regimen:

I’ve been running consistently.

Crunches are always competed before I walk out of the gym.

I’m eating plenty of food to give my muscles the fuel they need to grow.

Pushing myself to the limit every day was of the highest priority.

Pushing myself was my number one priority!

All of these aspects should be sculpting ab muscles that you could seriously gawk at. Even changing up my ab routine on a bi-weekly basis wasn’t cutting it. So what was I doing wrong? Could there be fat burning pills or some secret formula that I’m missing out on (also, never take fat burning pills).

HERE’S THE TRUTH ABOUT ABS

I’m going to tell you something about abs that nobody wants to hear, but it’s the absolute truth. Are you ready?

You can have phenomenal abs without having a visible six-pack. Having a six-pack is more of a body-fat issue, not a strength issue.

There it is, and it’s the truth! Some kids are born with a fast metabolism or great muscle genes and have phenomenal abs without even trying. They could have the strength of a butterfly but have the six-pack of a lifeguard from Baywatch (I hear the Rock is going to be in the remake). It’s just the sad truth, some people are born lucky.

On the other hand, strongmen have arguably some of the strongest cores in the lifting game. The same goes for Olympic weightlifters and the lineman for the Denver Broncos (Go Broncos!). Everyone can have great abdominal strength without having the six-pack. And honestly, a lot of people couldn’t care less about whether you could see their six-pack or not.

But My Stomach Feels Solid?

Good, that means that you’ve improved your core quality and strength. If you’re at this point in your training program, the best thing to do is keep up the good work.

Keep striving to build up on your core strength by doing weighted sit-ups, crunches, and other abdominal exercises (seriously, there are tons of them out there). This will increase your chances of growing your abs and thus increase your chances of revealing them someday.

Stopping at this point to jump ship and give up is a bad idea, keep up the good work!

Then How Do I Get Ripped Abs?

Well, Sonny Jim, as stated above getting “ripped abs” is more of a body fat issue rather than a strength issue. The best thing to do when wanting to get a ripped six-pack is to increase your cardio, volume of crunches, adjust your diet, the list goes on and on.

If you’re doing 20 crunches and you’re not getting the results you want, increase them to 50.

If you’re walking 20 minutes and you’re not getting the results you want, then run 20 minutes.

You don’t have to follow this advice to the letter, but the point comes across all the same. To increase the potential of having ripped abs you have to get rid of the fat covering them. Increasing the intensity of your workout and improving upon your diet will give you the best opportunity for success.

IN CONCLUSION

Please, valued reader, don’t get caught up in the hype of a six-pack. Just because you don’t have a shredded core, that doesn’t mean that your core strength isn’t phenomenal. The stomach area can be covered by a large area of fat, hence why having a six-pack is a body-fat issue, not a strength issue. People who have been working out for years can struggle to get shredded abs. If this is a goal that you’re seeking, adjust your diet accordingly and push yourself in your training to reach your goals! From there, you can’t fail.